Life out of balance

Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Koyaanisqatsi, est le premier film realisé par Godfrey Reggio, et ce film certainement cimente son héritage dans le monde du film. Ce film répresente le terre, essentiellement, USA, en toute sa gloire, sans ignorer aussi le contraire; le pauvreté abjét. En démontrant la nature magnificent, dans les scènes premières, on peut comparer comment on voit la beauté de notre monde avec l'absence des humaines. Or, avec la présence des humaines, est-qu'il y a la même beauté, ou peut-être, est-qu'il y a plus?



Ce film ne cherche pas un sens ou un signification. Au début, la réalisateur a voulu n'avoir rien comme titre. Il est ainsi approprié que il a choisi Koyaanisqatsi. Le spectateur n'est pas donné un façon dans laquelle il doit regarder le film. Il se peut qu'il soit un sérénade à la technologie et la modernité, ou un hymne pour la vitesse des cités et leurs régenerations? La seule clé est que la mot derive d'un langue Hopi, parlé par les indigènes qui habitent en Arizona, un langue ancien. Reggio présente l'idée que les états unis ont un histoire, mais ils avaient préféré de créer un nouveau monde, et utiliser les résources naturels sams cesse. Conséquemment marquent le terre, dans n'importe quel façon ils choisissent. Les images sur l'écran montrent comment la terre est exploité, apparemment très aggressif. Les machines déchirent le sol et la violence est illustrée à travers les explosions nombreuses.

Cela semble très moche, en outre, je crois que c'est la composition qui le fait si belle. Le rythme du film est dicté par la vitesse des scènes. Avec 'time-lapse', les nuages coulent gracieusement sus les montagnes forts et les ombres sous les nuages rougissent l'image. À mon avis, c'est le long duré des quelques scènes qui donne l'impression que les scènes accélerés sont en réalité plus lentes. Il est une illusion intéressante. C'est la prolongement des coleurs et les lumières des voitures, ou des fenêtres, qui augment cette abstraction. Toutefois les aspects visuelles define beaucoup de le rythme, il est aussi la musique. Le compositeur, Philip Glass, a une maîtrise de la marcottage des morceaux dont chacun s'entrelace. Pour chaque chapitre, la melodie commence avec une note dramatique, et des cuivres grognait comme un tremblement de terre.

Ce qui est le meilleure élément, c'est la mode, et la couleur du film qui est synonyme avec les années soixante dix. Les scènes avec les gens sont faits plus fascinant pour moi parce qu'ils évoquent un sens de nostalgie que je peut sentir, même si je n'avait pas encore été née. Plus important, les scènes de Monument Valley provoquent les sentiments de la Sublime, une émotion très enracinée dans mon esprit et mon âme. Est qu'il est claire que les films western aient inspiré ce film, en plus, que les autres films dans la future soient inspiré par le talent artistique des réalisateurs. Enfin, ce film preuve comment on peut rendre quelque chose belle avec un plutôt petit somme d'argent.

*****

Punks

Francis Ford Coppola

presents

Rumble Fish (1983)

Coppola creates beautiful films. Think of Apocalypse Now & The Outsiders. Rumble Fish is a brooding, pulsating drama of a disturbed youth surviving through a troubled upbringing. His brother, the anti hero of the movie is meant to be an intimidating gang member, but is living only on reputation. He is imortalised with his name 'The Motorcycle Boy' remaining scrawled on the bare walls in the outskirts of Tulsa, Oklahoma. This modern city is skyline opens the movie, creating an idea of civilised society, people in work or appartment blocks. However the section we is the opposite. Dark wastelands under bridges, fenced alleyways whose concrete ground is cracked and the rain (pathetic fallasy for this depressive atmosphere) fills these; its pockmarked with puddles. 

The heavily contrasted film echoes that of film noir. Mystery surrounds this ambiguous plot which is submerged in underlying meanings and symbolsim. It begins however more conventionally. There is a dance like fight (similar to West Side Story), but both parties of Rusty James, and Biff Willcox seem to want to hide their apprehension prior to it. Rusty is backed with the protection of an rabble of a gang, and Wilcox is hiding behind drugs to numb his senses. However, they overcome this and the fight is electrifying as Coppola switches between shadow and illuminating sparks of white light. 

This is a story of a boy, struggling to understand the actions of his friends, his alcoholic dad, his legendarily cool brother. He wants to be more than simple, and its sad to see people not giving him a chance. His bravado is captured in his unique look of a white vest and rambo styled bandana and also a black leather biking jacket.

Matt Dillon (The Outsiders - the less avant-guard younger brother to Rumble Fish) is a great youthful actor who captures the pain and confusion in his facial expressions. He is naive yet more earnest than some gangsters who are portrayed on film nowadays. In this way, you feel sorry for him but not in a pitiful way, but angry that his situation is inevitable and the poverty that he lives in through no fault of his own, is so hard to overcome for a 17 year old. He is the epitome of the wasted youth.

Nicolas Cage, Diane Lane and Vincent Spano - the other kids in the movie - keep Rumble Fish less malicious, and we remember they are just kids who have the same teenage problems of love and school conflict. However they also highlight how genuinly unsatisfactory Rusty James's home life is as all their lives are more protected. Diane Lane as Patty portrays a similar character to that of The Outsiders; the girl who lives in a more conventional and safe world yet is tempted by the wild rebellious life Rusty James lives.

The film has a motif of Rumble Fish - fighting fish who will end up even fighting themselves if they see themselves in the reflection of the glass tank of a fish bowl. They are the only things in colour, giving the film a psychedellic edge and you worry that Rusty and his brother will only find an outlet through drugs (luckily Rusty is in defiance to Heroin yet The Motorcycle Boy lives life more carefree, his idea of morality is frayed after years of fighting in punk gangs). The evolutionary fighting nature suggests that the kids can't escape their personalities and upbrining. They instead will fight inwardly whether to try and better themselves or capitulate into their fate. Also presented is the idea that human instincts to live within a pack conflict with the lone wolf impulses that torture all. 

This film is elegantly rugged, this feeling created by the lush contrast cloaking this dark subject matter. This is the most unorthodox take on a teen movie before Kids - there is no Hollywood-esque structure it conforms to which is very refreshing. Lastly, Matt Dillion is the best actor for any JD type anti-hero.

He's real bitchin' man

****

appologies for these reviews getting longer... comment if you want and thanks for bothering to read :)

Making Sense of Vietnam

Apocalypse Now (1979)

This is not a blockbuster film; this is not an action adventure - there is nothing that can be said about this film to romanticize it. Apocalypse Now is a shocking eye-opener for someone who had only heard rumours about Vietnam. I had previously watched films seeing the protests; seeing returning casualties try to endure re-entry to civilian life (Forrest Gump). Also I learned about the student protests in a long list of dates, statistics and acronyms.

R 'n R

Watching Apocalypse Now was trippy. A surreal psychological experience where ones eyes are glued to the screen. You are submerged into the contrasting atmosphere of gliding down idyllic jungle rivers, with the sun reflecting off the water in a radiant orange glow, and dark, stark realities of an anti-communist war in the eyes of USA. It is impossible for thoughts to meander away from what unfurls in front of you.

The soundtrack of ambient atonal orchestra music and the Door's The End  were the perfect non-digetic tracks - and really - The Doors track made the film for me; an 11 minute wavering, lyrical hymn to pyschedelia and all it stands for. The fatalism emerging from this song is what makes it so poignant for a film like Apocalypse Now. America went in too deep and now are now reaping the consequences whilst swinging on the rope noose, tightening on their guilty necks.

America from my point of view are bolshy, and unashamedly self-righteous. All started with the Truman Doctrine when President Truman declared it was America's duty to protect the world from Communism. This fear of this antithetical threat escalated in to an irrational hatred, that was first shown politically, then physically with crazy witch-hunts for communists and bizarre cult of McCarthyism. Then 'Nam came along... I don't know the origins yet somehow like a malignant tumour, the panic spread; conscription by birthday amassed a rabble of an army. An army of youths lead by stubborn incompetent Generals will never be successful. We learn about the protests but not exactly why they were protesting. Now witnessing where they were going - it angers me further as the protests didn't end the war or stop conscription. American's are not allowed to buy alcohol until 21 yet it is apparently okay to send them to Vietnam - to experience such atrocities.

Just how incredibly farcical the whole situation had become was witnessed in the 'epic' flight of helicopters descending on a village at dawn. Colonel Kilgore hollers; 'play the music - my boys love it' and Ride of the Valkyries swarms from above. It is incredible cinema. However patriotic this scene may be, it is horrifying to see the lack of remorse, and enjoyment the men are having when flying in the helicopters. Until mistakes are made and death swoops down. The realism of the fun, coloured gas and bright explosions of Napalm of are complete opposites to the harrowing events

Mental instability is a massive topic tackled here yet there is no clear resolution - the ambiguity leaves you unsettled but provokes much thought. The acid culture that the soldiers bring with them, creates a dream world where they are fighting unconsciously. They only see the hatred of 'Charlie' which has been fueled by propaganda and lies. When the target - Colonel Kurtz (the ultimate soldier gone insane) - surfaces, we join Francis Ford Coppola on a journey into the depth of the deteriorating mind. It expresses a human conflict between our beliefs in being civilised and primordial instincts of seeking power within nature. Marlon Brando is memorable as his poetic words spoken delicately are really quite chilling.

This film must be watched with foundation of knowledge of Vietnam war to fully appreciate it. Best film.
*****